Notable & Newsworthy
April 2022
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Figure 1. Infineon StrongIRFET™ and OptiMOS™ power MOSFET 20-300 V technologies
Introducing a game changer for high switching frequency applications
High efficiency, power density, and better thermal behavior are the key trends when it comes to power management. Infineon is constantly working on introducing highly innovative power MOSFET technologies able to meet the requirements for all app
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Date:
04/30/2022
Kazuhide Ino, Managing Executive Officer, CSO, ROHM
Global semiconductor supplier ROHM Semiconductor and world-class power supply manufacturer Delta Electronics announced that they have entered into a strategic partnership to develop and mass-produce next-generation GaN (gallium nitride) power devices. Combining Delta’s power supply device de
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Date:
04/28/2022
Gabriel Szabó, Executive Vice President of Downstream at MOL Group
MOL Group, an international, integrated oil, gas, petrochemicals, and consumer retail company, has teamed up with Plug Power Inc. to build one of Europe’s largest-capacity green hydrogen production facilities at MOL’s Danube Refinery in Százhalombatta, Hungary. Green hydrogen will reduce the ca
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Date:
04/28/2022
Alpha and Omega Semiconductor Limited (AOS) announced the release of AOZ8S204BL2 and AOZ8S205BL2, 2-in-1 transient voltage suppressors (TVS) for super high-speed line protection using the latest Super Low Cap TVS platform and advanced packaging. These new devices are ideal for USB Type-C and HDMI applications su
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Date:
04/28/2022
Renesas Electronics Corporation announced an integrated automotive ECU Virtualization Platform that enables designers to integrate multiple applications into a single ECU (Electronic Control Unit) that are safely and securely separated from each other to avoid interference. The solution enables cu
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Date:
04/28/2022
As oil and gas prices continue to rise the world needs more alternative energy sources that increase resiliency and decrease dependence on fossil fuels. Yotta Energy has raised an additional $3.5 million, including a strategic investment from inverter OEM partner APsystems, bringing its total Series A
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Date:
04/26/2022
Professor Naira Hovakimyan from the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering (MechSE) at UIUC
Fans of the 1997 film “The Fifth Element” were undoubtedly drawn to the gravity-defying cars filling the screen, especially the Bruce Willis character’s air taxi.
Thanks to a $6M NASA grant, professor Naira Hovakimyan leads the way toward making these flying cabs a reality. And passengers won’t e
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Date:
04/26/2022
Cornell Dubilier Electronics, Inc. (CDE) announced that it has expanded its signature series of 380LX and 381LX aluminum electrolytic capacitors to include voltages up to 600 Vdc. The new ratings are designed to serve the company’s industrial electronics customers who continue to push the application boundarie
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Date:
04/25/2022
Elma Electronic Inc. has added three new models to its NetSys family of rugged, secure networking systems that facilitate edge computing in a number of mission-critical applications. Utilizing an onboard encryption module that offloads packet encryption and decryption from the routing engine, the routers pr
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Date:
04/25/2022
Infineon Technologies AG adds a new member to the CIPOS Tiny Intelligent Power Module (IPM) family: the CIPOS Tiny IM323-L6G 600 V 15 A. The new IPM is based on TRENCHSTOP IGBT RC-D2 switches and state-of-the-art SOI gate driver technology to realize maximum efficiency and improved reliability, along wi
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Date:
04/25/2022
Pvilion CEO Colin Touhey
One area of renewable energy we haven’t really covered, at least as of yet, is the wearable sort – including and especially solar clothing that generates power while you go about your daily routine. But it’s still a technology with a ton of potential, and here to discuss that is Pvilion CEO Colin Touhe
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Date:
04/19/2022
Anne Reynolds, Executive Director of the Alliance for Clean Energy New York
Clean Path NY (CPNY) announced a critical milestone for its nation-leading, “All Renewable, All New York” clean energy and transmission project to deliver reliable, clean energy to New York communities and transform how New York is powered. With contract approval from the New York State Public Service Co
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Date:
04/18/2022
Carl Vondrick, assistant professor of computer science, Columbia University
Ever noticed online ads following you that are eerily close to something you’ve recently talked about with your friends and family? Microphones are embedded into nearly everything today, from our phones, watches, and televisions to voice assistants, and they are always listening to you. Computers are constantly us
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Date:
04/18/2022
A phase map of an agglomerated particle in a common lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery electrode shows the charge distribution as it goes from 4% to 86%. FP refers to iron phosphate. Rice University scientists found that the FP phase spreads nonuniformly on an aggregate surface upon charging, rather than the expected even spread of lithium over the surface. The scale bar is 10 microns.
If you could shrink enough for a fantastic voyage across a lithium battery electrode, you’d see the level of charge at every scale is highly uneven.
This is not good for the battery’s health. Rice University researchers who recognize the problem worked with the Department of Energy to view in g
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Date:
04/18/2022
EPC Space announces the introduction of EPC7019G, a 40 V, 4 mΩ, 530 Apulsed, radiation-hardened gallium nitride transistor that is lower in cost and is a more efficient solution than the nearest comparable radiation hardened (RH) silicon MOSFET. The EPC7019G has a total dose rating greater than 1 Mrad
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Date:
04/18/2022
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Figure 1. Cross-section view of Infineon’s CoolGaN™ GIT device structure
Introduction
Gallium Nitride (GaN) technology plays a major part in the wide bandgap revolution currently sweeping the semiconductor industry and manufacturers are racing to enter this burgeoning market. While the top-level advantages of using GaN devices in power electronics applications are clear (including higher switching frequencies, better performance at high temperatures, and lower power losses), the more subtle but nonetheless important differ
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Date:
04/14/2022
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Figure 1. Comparison of planar and trench MOSFET structure
Introduction
Society’s demand for energy is continuously increasing. A plethora of digital content is consumed every day, appliances are connected via the cloud, and vehicle electrification is experiencing a renaissance – all of which are contributing to this energy demand upsurge. At the same time, carbon emis
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Date:
04/14/2022
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Figure 1. Suitability of Si, SiC, and GaN for power supply applications
Introduction
Silicon power devices, such as MOSFETs and IGBTs, have a long history of reliable operation in power applications. They are low-cost, with a proven track record, and there’s a wide choice of suppliers so that designers can have a second source. They are also a familiar, well-established opti
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Date:
04/14/2022
An artist’s impression of how the researchers used x-ray tomography as a magnifying lens to see into the inner structure of nanomaterials.
From designing new biomaterials to novel photonic devices, new materials built through a process called bottom-up nanofabrication, or self-assembly, are opening up pathways to new technologies with properties tuned at the nanoscale. However, to fully unlock the potential of these new materials, researchers ne
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Date:
04/14/2022
Prof. Dario Floreano, Director of EPFL’s Laboratory of Intelligent System
When it comes to the future of intelligent robots, the first question people ask is often: how many jobs will they make disappear? Whatever the answer, the second question is likely to be: how can I make sure that my job is not among them?
In a study just published in Science Robotics, a team of
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Date:
04/14/2022
Engineers at MIT and NREL have developed a heat engine with no moving parts that is as efficient as a steam turbine.
Engineers at MIT and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have designed a heat engine with no moving parts. Their new demonstrations show that it converts heat to electricity with over 40 percent efficiency — a performance better than that of traditional steam turbines.
The heat engine is a ther
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Date:
04/14/2022
Renesas Electronics Corporation introduced the first clock buffers and multiplexers that meet stringent PCIe Gen6 specifications. Renesas, the industry’s undisputed leader in timing solutions, is offering 11 new clock buffers and 4 new multiplexers. The new devices, which also support and provide extra ma
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Date:
04/14/2022
EA Elektro-Automatik continues to roll out its 10000 series enhanced and expanded line of EA-PS and EA-PSI programmable DC power supplies, EA-PSB bidirectional DC power supplies, and EA-ELR regenerative DC electronic loads. This latest product launch includes four classes of new 3U models offering a greater
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Date:
04/14/2022
Allied Electronics & Automation supplies Siemens’ SIRIUS 3SK safety relays, which deliver flexible, consistent, cost-effective and user-friendly solutions for a comprehensive range of autonomous safety applications, as well as simplify the planning, commissioning and expansion of today’s mo
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Date:
04/13/2022
TestEquity announced today that it has added the MDL4U series Modular DC Electronic Loads to its product offering. The addition of the MDL4U series will allow TestEquity to expand its product line from a company that has built a strong level of trust in the industry.
Because B&K Precision’s own engin
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Date:
04/12/2022
VINATech Co. has announced that its VPC (Vina Pulse Capacitor) hybrid capacitors are being used in the new 2022 eco-friendly solar cell TV remote control for Samsung Electronics' recently-launched Neo QLED TV. This is the first time in the world that a hybrid capacitor has completely replaced the battery as the
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Date:
04/12/2022
Kyle Wang, MD
Electricity has formed the basis of many aspects of the modern world, from providing reliable sources of light to powering home appliances and computers. Now, researchers are studying how electricity can be harnessed as a treatment for certain types of cancer.
Kyle Wang, MD, explained that human cells nat
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Date:
04/12/2022
Scientists from the U.S., Europe and Russia are part of a team releasing the results of a large collaborative study involving the effects of long duration spaceflight on the brain. It appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The researchers found that while all of the astronauts and cosmo
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Date:
04/12/2022
Illustration of edge magnetism discovered in CrGeTe3 using nanoscale magnetic microscopy
Probing the world of the very, very small is a wonderland for physicists. At this nano-scale, where materials as thin as 100 atoms are studied, totally new and unexpected phenomena are discovered. Here, nature ceases to behave in a way that is predictable by the macroscopic law of physics, unlike wh
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Date:
04/12/2022
KYOCERA AVX has extended its line of single-piece card-edge connector solutions with the addition of the new 9159-650 Series vertical, dual-row, top-entry card-edge connectors. Designed to provide significant functionality in a broad range of perpendicular, PCB-mating automotive, industrial, and li
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Date:
04/11/2022
Torex Semiconductor Ltd. has launched 400nA PWM/PFM Ultra-Low Quiescent Current, Step-up DC/DC Converters--XC9145 series.
The XC9145 series reduces current consumption to 400nA with an ultra-low current consumption circuit. By adopting PWM/PFM control method, the efficiency at light load, especially at the outpu
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Date:
04/11/2022
STMicroelectronics’ TDA7901 automotive amplifier integrates a buck controller for class-G power switching and supports high-definition audio, a market-unique combination for great listening and high efficiency.
In class-G operation, the TDA7901 buck controller automatically optimizes the volta
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Date:
04/11/2022
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Figure 1. Examples for extrinsic defects in an amorphous layer, mathematically modeled via a local thinning effect in the gate-oxide of SiC devices
Introduction
The unique properties of Gallium Nitride (GaN) and Silicon Carbide (SiC) devices make them increasingly popular alternatives for silicon in power electronics applications. The appeal of SiC devices lies in their ability to offer unipolar device concepts with low switching losses at high voltages, while GaN devices can switch at much higher frequencies. Although these properties enable smaller
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Date:
04/08/2022
KYOCERA AVX expanded its line of wire-to-board connectors with the release of the new UL-approved 9296-400 Series 4mm-pitch horizontal poke-home connectors.
The new 9296-400 Series connectors are designed to enable the quick, easy, cost-effective, and reliable board termination of discre
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Date:
04/07/2022
TDK Corporation presents a new series of EPCOS MKP-Y2 capacitors for interference suppression. In contrast to conventional models designed for a maximum operating temperature of 110 °C, the new capacitors offer a maximum permissible operating temperature of 125 °C. The B3202* H/J series’ capacitance ranges fro
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Date:
04/07/2022
EPC announces the production release of the EPC2050, a 350 V GaN transistor with a maximum RDS(on) of 80 mΩ and a 26 A pulsed output current. The EPC2050 measures just 1.95 mm x 1.95 mm. This tiny size enables power solutions that occupy ten times less area than comparable silicon solutions.
Applications benefiting from the
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Date:
04/07/2022
Flex Power Modules has added to its PKU-D series of low-profile sixteenth-brick DC-DC converters with the PKU3913D, a 100 W rated part with an extended input range down to 30 V and regulated output of 12 V/8.3 A. The intended application is for nominal inputs of 48 V or 54 V with possible long cable lengths and
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Date:
04/07/2022
Schematic illustrations of the electrochemical lithium ion intercalation-based exfoliation process.
Two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), an emerging class of materials that can be used as semiconductors and insulators, have promising potential in various applications due to their unique properties. But the reliable production of these atomically thin 2D materials has been challenging. A
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Date:
04/07/2022
Figure 1: The Fukaden tethered drone can be deployed quickly to support natural disaster situations where lives are at risk.
Natural disasters can occur all over the world and restoring communications is essential for first responders to support the time-critical needs of victims and reinstating the supply of essential services such as drinking water, food and electricity.
A Japanese engineering company, Fukaden Corporation, is enabli
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Date:
04/07/2022
Close-up image of male hands using smartphone at night on city shopping street, searching or social networks concept, hipster man typing an sms message to his friends
Could your smartphone be spying on you?
Hopefully not, and if so, not for long, thanks to a team of researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering.
Their recent study found that the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) in some Android smartphones could be used to eavesdrop on a user’s cr
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Date:
04/04/2022
SwRI’s new 74,000-square-foot Space System Integration Facility will allow rapid response to customers needing to design, assemble and test spacecraft, particularly small satellites for emerging “new space” applications, including support for the commercial and U.S. Department of Defense arenas.
Southwest Research Institute has added a new, 74,000-square-foot Space System Integration Facility to its San Antonio headquarters. The SwRI facility can rapidly respond to customers needing to design, assemble and test spacecraft, particularly small satellites for emerging “new space” applications, including su
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Date:
04/04/2022
SemiQ, Inc. is proud to announce the release of its second-generation Silicon Carbide 1200V 80mΩ Power MOSFET modules developed in the industry-standard SOT-227 packages.
These 1200V Silicon Carbide MOSFET Modules are the latest extension to their SiC MOSFET product portfoli
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Date:
04/04/2022
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Figure 1. A 5 V converter with a simple EMI filter at the input passes CISPR 25 Class 5
Automotive, transportation, and industrial applications are noise sensitive and demand low EMI power solutions. Traditional approaches control EMI with slowed down switching edges or lower switching frequency. Both have undesired effects, such as reducing efficiency, increasing minimum on- and off-times, and re
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Date:
04/01/2022
There is currently a real shortage of workers. The COVID pandemic has provided an incentive for many older workers to leave the workforce and retire. Other, younger workers are slow to rejoin the workforce after the pandemic in what has become known as the great resignation. It is a situation that has been found ri
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Date:
04/01/2022
The main roadblock to widespread EV adoption may have already been solved…in theory.
For as far along the technological spectrum that electric vehicles drift, there’s one persistent issue dogging it, and we’ve all known this since the beginning – recharge speed and its unfavorable comparison to intern
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Date:
04/01/2022
The large and diverse industrial market spans everything from IoT, robots, weather radar systems, motor drives and industrial lighting to test equipment, welders, power tools and forklifts. Some industrial systems, like standby generator controls and communications systems, must work on top of mountains that ca
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Date:
04/01/2022
Sfera Labs recently introduced a new indoor environmental sensor, Exo Sense Pi. While there is a peak of interest in indoor sensors that can monitor air quality and people occupancy, this is a very crowded space. For a company specializing in industrial solutions, wouldn't it have been better to stay clear of the
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Date:
04/01/2022
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Figure 1: Examples of high voltage DC-DC converters for sensitive imaging applications, featuring low ripple, noise, and EMI. Shielded internal transformers and plated steel housings additionally achieve low levels of EM radiation
We’re all perhaps familiar with the difficulties of recording images in low light conditions, with our cell-phones producing grainy images in the dark as their electronics winds up the gain of the signal chain to capture as many photons as possible amongst the background electrical noise. The sensors in cell-phone ca
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Date:
04/01/2022
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Figure 1: Bourns’ recently released IsoMOV hybrid protectors are designed to efficiently manage the current density in the MOV resulting in substantial surge current handling in a given size device. IsoMOV devices are rated to 125ºC with nominal surge ratings of 3 kA, 5 kA, or 8 kA, and are available with Maximum Continuous Operating Voltage ratings up to 555V – ideally suited for 480 V industrial power lines
What may not be apparent in a seemingly optimal industrial environment are the many potential electrical issues that can threaten the reliability of industrial-based power systems and communication lines.
Behind the scenes, industrial applications frequently connect to large motors, high-power heaters,
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Date:
04/01/2022
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Figure 1: A dual-channel architecture to achieve HFT = 1
The need for industrial and automotive electrical and electronic systems to perform the intended functionality safely i.e., without causing hazards, is becoming important.
As industrial and automotive electrical and electronic (E/E) systems become more autonomous and complex, the need for these systems to perform
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Date:
04/01/2022
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Figure 1. SilentMOS LTC7050 has internal symmetrical and small hot loops to minimize the ringing, with (a) showing LTC7050 and (b) showing a conventional DrMOS module
The LTC7050 can be configured to power two separate rails, with individual on/off control, fault reporting, and current sensing outputs, or it can be configured as a dual phase single output converter. The LTC7051 single 140 A power stage leverages the LTC7050 core design and offers seven higher power density wit
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Date:
04/01/2022
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Figure 1: The Schmitt trigger outputs a constant signal between two switching thresholds
When higher data rates are transmitted by cable over longer distances, noise is generated that overlays the wanted signal and makes it difficult to clearly determine the digital signal. This can result in digital logic elements no longer being able to process the wanted signals. The noise can be reduced by shie
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Date:
04/01/2022
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Figure 1: A MHEV 48V system with three paralleled MOSFETs in a symmetrical loop on the PCB face (Source: Author)
Automobile power electronic designs continue to diverge in electric vehicles (EV), hybrid, and gasoline autos where silicon power metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) and wide-bandgap (WBG) semiconductor devices, such as gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC) devices, create ef
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Date:
04/01/2022
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Figure 1: Integrated GaNFast Power IC
Designers are seeking alternatives to silicon to meet the performance and efficiency challenges of their next generation technologies. In addition, OEMs are looking for ways to reduce their carbon footprint by reducing materials and energy use related to their products. Gallium nitride (GaN) is rapidly becoming th
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Date:
04/01/2022
Spring is in the air again, and the sun is in the sky, at least here in Scotland and hopefully where you are too. I find the daylight lasting longer and the heat from the sun really lifts my mood and fills me full of optimism that things will improve this year. After the last two years, that shouldn’t be too di
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Date:
04/01/2022
COVID is starting to become an afterthought and not a moment too soon.
I say starting because it’s still very much a tangible concern – I haven’t flown for several years now, and I still get a bit antsy around large crowds. Force of habit, I suppose.
But the numbers look good – in my home state
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Date:
04/01/2022
Schaffner extends its range of components for lighting applications.
The new ED100/ED101 EMC filter series has been designed specifically for the requirements of LED driver circuits. The new filter’s common-mode inductance is matched by a substantial differential-mode inductance. With only
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Date:
04/01/2022
Infineon Technologies AG announced the launch of a complete power management offering for compute servers based on Intel’s Sapphire Rapids compute processing units (CPU). This new “pick-and-place” solution utilizes several Infineon power management devices and technologies that deliver optimum po
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Date:
04/01/2022
A student team from Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University was named as a winner in the EnergyTech University Prize, a national competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Technology Transitions in partnership with American-Made Challenges. Teams were charged with identifying an
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Date:
04/01/2022
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Figure 1. Typical B-H curve from positive saturation to negative saturation. When H is zero there exists Br which requires -Hc to return to zero. The area within the loop is core loss per cycle
What are AC Losses and why are they important? This paper discusses the physical effects and which issues must be observed by design engineers. Furthermore, an approach to determine AC losses with unmatched accuracy is being introduced.
In 1892 Charles P. Steinmetz, working for General Electric presented his no
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Date:
04/01/2022
Genaro Soto Valle, Manos Tentzeris, Kexin Hu, and Yepu Cui with the fabricated proof-of-concept tile arrays and inkjet-printed tile arrays.
5G+ (5G/Beyond 5G) is the fastest-growing segment and the only significant opportunity for investment growth in the wireless network infrastructure market, according to the latest forecast by Gartner, Inc. But currently 5G+ technologies rely on large antenna arrays that are typically bulky and come onl
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Date:
04/01/2022
Researchers from MIT and elsewhere have created a framework that could enable a robot to effectively complete complex manipulation tasks with deformable objects, like dough or cloth, that require many tools and take a long time to complete.
Imagine a pizza maker working with a ball of dough. She might use a spatula to lift the dough onto a cutting board then use a rolling pin to flatten it into a circle. Easy, right? Not if this pizza maker is a robot.
For a robot, working with a deformable object like dough is tricky because the shape of dough
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Date:
04/01/2022
Quantum technologies, like this quantum computer at Sandia National Laboratories, might be a source of future jobs in New Mexico’s tech sector.
Science, education and economic development leaders across New Mexico have formed a coalition to bring future quantum computing jobs to the state.
Sandia National Laboratories, The University of New Mexico and Los Alamos National Laboratory announced the new coalition today at UNM during the Quantum New Mexic
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Date:
04/01/2022
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